September. ..poncho or no poncho?

[khurley23]

I leave on Wednesday for a 10 day trip. I'm a California girl so humidity is not something I'm used to. Since an average chance of rain is 40% each day I'm there, should I purchase ponchos for my group? Or are the rain showers generally brief enough that it's not worth the hassle? Thanks in advance.

 

[plutosgirl]

We are leaving Tuesday and after reading Sept reviews (we usually go in late Nov) it seems like there is a lot more rain so I picked up the cheap $1 ponchos and grabbed one for each day. They are in small packages and we can just chuck them once we use them. Hoping we won't need them all! LOL

 

[Alesia]

Personally, I don't get the love for ponchos. I'd much rather just get wet.

 

[khurley23]

Personally, I don't get the love for ponchos. I'd much rather just get wet.

This is kind of my way of thinking too. I don't even own an umbrella. A little water doesn't bother me. I'm just not sure if "a little water" is what I'm going to get or if we are talking about a drenching.

 

[loves to dive]

I go mostly in September and it's just a matter of do you want to get wet or not. It is most likely going to rain at some point, it could be a quick 5 minute light shower, it could be a half hour gully washer, you never know. Personally, I'm not a huge poncho fan cause they stick to you and don't always keep the water out, especially the cheap ones in the gully washers. Having said that I always carry rain gear of some sort, either a small umbrella (no I do not poke anyone in the eyes or let it drip on someone else) or a pvc rain coat with a hood that goes down past my knees. The umbrella attaches to a belt loop or can clip on the outside of a small crossbody. The rain coat will fold almost as small as a cheap poncho and certainly as small as a decent one so fits in the pockets of a man's pair of cargo shorts if DS is with me or a small crossbody if he isn't.

 

[TinaLala]

So it doesn't matter what time of year I go, I always bring my rain coat and a poncho. Yes you can get wet and duck into shops, attractions, etc. one rainstorm we road HM 8 times, it even got struck by lightning and lost power twice, once while we were going six feet under - now that was scary!

 

[mkla2015]

We always pack a poncho- never know what kind of weather you'll have in fla!

 

[tinkerbella16]

We also always pack our ponchos and just throw them in the backpack if rain is in the forecast for that day. We bought the ponchos in disney 2 years ago and they hold up really well, so we will always pack them just in case. I don't mind getting a little wet, but getting soaked and walking around in drenched clothes is just uncomfortable and when you go in a ride with the ac blasting, that is not fun, but freeeeezing!!! When we get back to the room, we hang them up so they dry properly.

 

[merina888]

September is still part of hurricane season in Florida. We went at the end of August and Tropical Storm Erika dumped a ton of rain. We got completely soaked. I'd bring rain gear.

 

[minnie mum]

I agree with Tinkerbella. It's one thing to get a little wet when you're in CA. Once it stops raining, you dry out fast. In Florida, with the high humidity, you may not dry out for hours, if at all. And I HATE the cheap disposable ponchos. They don't cover well and cling like a dry cleaner bag. The Disney ponchos last, come down lower on the legs, and DONT CLING. When it stops raining we give them a quick shake and put them in a plastic bag, stuff that in our backpack, then hang them to dry once were back at the resort. We always have them in our park bag, just in case.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We are down here now...forecast is for us to get 1-3 inches of rain today. Our trusty Disney ponchos ( worth every penny if you go often) are with us! We have had our ponchos for more than 10 trips ...they are still in great condition.

 

[lilclerk]

We went for 2 weeks last September, and it rained pretty much every day our first week. We were VERY glad we had ponchos! It sucks when it stops raining and you're just stuck in wet clothes the rest of the day, the ponchos help prevent that for the most part.

 

[cmarsh31]

Yes yes and yes. Our ponchos were life-savers last year. We were in ankle deep water in AK, MK, and Epcot (we are now intimately familiar with every single detail in Mexico) during torrential rains. After the rains we just lightly tied them to our backpack (so they dried as we walked) and kept right on going. We have pictures on 7DMT in ponchos, pictures in front of the castle in ponchos, but ironically, it didn't rain when we rode Splash Mountain, go figure. We opted for slightly more expensive ones ($10-20) instead of the $ store ones. They weren't annoyingly clingy and kept everyone dry and happy.

Storms only lasted 10-20 minutes so it would have sucked to be sopping wet for hours or have to go back to change before going out to dinner, etc.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We always have ponchos with us.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We ALWAYS carry ponchos! i like the dollar store ones....we throw them away after we're done. I always bring about a dozen of them since theyre so cheap and portable.

Better to be safe than sorry, i'd bring a couple with you. Definitely in September since it rains so much!

 

[Elevationist]

I was there the last week of September last year, and it rained every day. Not just sprinkled, but RAINY WRATH. I've read trip reports here from quite a few DISers who were also there throughout the month of September last year, and they all experienced the same thing. It was so much rain that I've resolved to avoid going again in September all together, if I can help it. So... Yes. Ponchos. For sure.

 

[Accident]

We don't bring anything with us but we've never been there when we finally hit the point that we just buy something. The trip we just came back from there was 3 times it was not a light or brief rain situation and something was needed to be completely soaked. One of the times we happened to be in Animal Kingdom in an area that there was nothing to shelter from and you just got really wet. There was more times but we hid, or happened to be in a spot that we were dry waiting for transportation. Last year end of sept 2014, it really really rained. We had things to use and still ended up soaked to the point we were heading back to resorts to change, doing a lot of extra laundry and lost 2 different pairs of sneakers that had to be replaced from how wet they got. What caught us off guard is how some walkways turn into little rivers to channel the water to the lakes. It's above ankle height in areas with the entrance to MK being the deepest that we witnessed.

Just be ready for plan B and any shop has ponchos and some have umbrellas if you need them. When the wind suddenly stops, the temp quickly drops and a cold breeze comes along, it's time to start walking where your not away from something to duck into. You can also use the temporary carts as a gauge, if they close down and start covering electronics, your a few minutes from being soaked.

 

[katallo]

Take them. We were there the first week of Sept. Rain chances were 60%. I called them our lucky charm since it only rained 3 hours!

 

[khurley23]

How much are the Disney ones? I've heard "Richard's" has a pretty decent one too? Since I'm unlikely to use them again, I'd hate to spend too much money but it sounds like I should be prepared.

 

[dkrauss]

Poncho!

Doug